Custom software, scoped to the problem.
For small businesses that have outgrown a spreadsheet, a paper process, or an app that almost fits. I build the missing piece and stay available after it ships.
Sound familiar?
Most of the businesses I work with had a workaround. Then the workaround became somebody’s job.
- Quoting lives in a spreadsheet that only one person understands.
- Orders arrive by text, email, and phone, then get re-typed into three places.
- Two systems that should talk to each other don’t, so a person is the bridge.
- The developer who built your last tool stopped answering.
- Someone built you an app with an AI tool. It demoed great. Real customers found the edges in a week.
What I build
Internal tools
The job board, scheduler, or admin panel your team actually opens. Usually it replaces the spreadsheet that became the business.
Customer-facing portals
Booking, quoting, order status. Things your customers do themselves instead of calling you.
Automations and integrations
Make the tools you already pay for talk to each other, so nobody re-types anything.
Rescue and takeover
Software you inherited, bought from an agency, or had an AI tool generate. I stabilise it, document it, and make it safe to change.
AI where it earns its keep
Sorting intake, drafting replies, pulling data out of PDFs. Only when it saves real hours, with a person checking the result.
Already have an app that almost works?
Rescue work is a growing share of what I do. It usually arrives one of three ways.
Built with an AI tool
Someone prompted their way to a working demo. It handles the happy path. Then a customer does something unexpected, there are no tests, and nobody can say which generated file is at fault.
Built by a low-bid agency
The quote was great. The app shipped, the invoice got paid, and every fix since has been a new quote or a long silence. You have a login, maybe. You may not have the code.
Built by someone who left
A freelancer, an employee, a friend of the owner. It runs the business, and nobody else has touched it in years.
What a rescue looks like
Sometimes the honest answer is that the AI-built version is fine and needs a weekend of cleanup. I will say so.
Get an honest read on itRead it first
A short assessment, in writing: what is there, what is fragile, and whether it is worth saving or faster to rebuild the core. You get that before any quote.
Stop the bleeding
Get the code, hosting, and domains into accounts you own. Fix the thing failing today. Put tests around the parts that make money.
Make it safe to change
Documentation someone can follow, a deploy that is not a leap of faith, and a handover so the next person is not starting from zero.
Three ways to work together
A free 30-minute call
FreeYou describe what’s slowing the business down. I tell you what I’d build and give you a rough range on the spot.
- No slides, no follow-up sequence
- Sometimes the answer is “you don’t need software”
Per project
Fixed quote, in writingA defined scope, a fixed price, milestones you can see.
- Best for one clear problem
- Working software early, written updates weekly
- Documented handover and a warranty period
Monthly retainer
Set hours, flat monthly rateA block of hours each month for improvements, fixes, and someone to call.
- Best for tools that keep evolving
- Priority response when something is down
- Month to month
Questions owners usually ask
- What does it cost?
- Projects get a fixed quote in writing after the call. Retainers are a set number of hours a month at a flat rate. No hourly surprises.
- Who owns the code and the accounts?
- You do, from day one. Hosting, domains, and source live in accounts you control.
- What happens if it breaks after you’re done?
- Every project ends with a documented handover and a short warranty period. After that, a retainer covers fixes, or you call me when something comes up.
- Do you only work with businesses near Waterloo?
- No. I’m in Waterloo, Ontario, and happy to meet in person nearby, but most of the work happens over video. Anywhere in Canada or the US works.
- An AI tool or a cheap agency built my app. Can you fix it, or do I start over?
- Usually it can be fixed, and starting over is rarely as cheap as it sounds. I read the code first and tell you which it is, in writing, before quoting anything.
- Isn’t off-the-shelf software cheaper?
- Often, and I’ll say so on the call. Custom makes sense when the off-the-shelf option does most of the job and the rest costs you hours every week.
Tell me what you’re trying to fix.
Even if it’s half-formed. I’ll tell you honestly whether I’m the right person.